My HT Build has gotten to the point where I need to decide on how many rows of seating so I can order and, more importantly, if 2 rows, build a riser. I will have an AT screen with a CIH setup. The width of the 2:35 screen will be between 8 and 9 feet (undecided as of yet).

Here is the problem. The room is small. It is only 13 feet long from the screen to the back of the room (this does not include the area behind the AT screen and the equuipment closet). I am going to get 4 Berkline 86s for the first row. I am debating getting a second row of rocker-type theater seats for the back row.

Do you think I am trying to put too much seating in there, i.e., should I go with just one row? And if 2 rows, would it look odd if I had one rows of Berks and one row of theater rockers?

Thanks.

Put your one row of seats at 11 ft get a 9-10 ft wide 2:35. Sit back and enjoy.

I also have a hunch that your don't have enough HVAC to support 8 people and all your equipment in this room.

Build a great theater for 4, rather than compromising comfort for 8. Unless you have a large family.

Put your one row of seats at 11 ft get a 9-10 ft wide 2:35. Sit back and enjoy.

I also have a hunch that your don't have enough HVAC to support 8 people and all your equipment in this room.

Build a great theater for 4, rather than compromising comfort for 8. Unless you have a large family.+1

I use this site to figure out my view distance.

http://myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html

11' it says max screen size is 98.4. Atleast that is what I think its telling me.

If you know your screen size you can put that in too and find out how far you should sit.

my screen I think will be 92" Recommended THX viewing distance (36 degree viewing angle) is 10.3'

BIG, I have always wonder what everyone is using for view distance because it seems everyone has larger screens but view distance is still 9-11', is the site I use wrong?

I prefer to sit closer than that calculator indicates

Our eyes are exactly 1.12 screen widths from the screen (12' seats, 127" screen)

I'm not so sure it works well for 2.35. It recommends 16.3' for THX optimal and 19.7 for SMPTE when I enter our details. That is way too far away for a 1st row IMO. Our 2nd row is at 17' and I much prefer the front row, as do most people who sit in the theater. I sit in the back row when we have guests and, while it is still nice, not quite as immersive as the front row.

Think the site your using is using the 1.5x screen width rule needed with early 720p projectors to prevent screen door effect (i.e, seeing pixels). With a newer 720p you can go down to about 1.3x width fairly safely and 1080p you can get down to 1x

But really you need to see what your comfortable with - thats why many say buy your PJ before screen so you can adjust to your own personal tastes.

Cheers,
Mark

Thanks Craig and Mark!! That answers why I was confused about seating distances.

I already own a Panny AE900U so I will getting the right size on my wall before I get my screen. I want the biggest screen possible but I do not want to be turning my head left to right to watch a movie. :eek:

Too the OP, Im only 13' deep too and there is no way to stick two rows in there and be comfortable. I think you are stuck with one.

I want the biggest screen possible but I do not want to be turning my head left to right to watch a movie. :eek:Having had a wide "variety" of people (grandparents, friends, kids, etc...) in our theater, I think I can safely say that you won't find many who find ~1.0x - 1.1 too close.

My HT is only 12' deep and frankly there is no way I could have put more than a single row of decent seating in there without having people 6'-7' from the screen.

My advice is to just stick to one row of four.

Having had a wide "variety" of people (grandparents, friends, kids, etc...) in our theater, I think I can safely say that you won't find many who find ~1.0x - 1.1 too close.

Heck my daughter often lays at bottom of stage - thats like 0.5x :eek

My seats are about 1.4x and could easily go 1.1x - I'm thinking one day I may go two rows but will probably wait until I go 1080p and some other room upgrades.

/takes look behind to ensure wife is not reading :D

I think I can safely say that you won't find many who find ~1.0x - 1.1 too close.


Awesome!!

I had a feeling that people would say just 1 row of seats. So one row it is. The upside is that having to pay for just 1 row frees up some cash. Are buttkickers worth the money? Of course I already have 2 subs wired and ready for use on the room, so the buttkickers may be overkill. I guess then it can go into my kids' college fund, or else I can buy a blu-ray since I chose wrong in the format war.

Thanks for the input.

I would at least wire for the buttkickers - they come in handy when you need to dial down the LFE for night time viewing.

Are buttkickers worth the money?

Some people love them, some people hate them. You should try them out somewhere.

I like them.

Put your one row of seats at 11 ft get a 9-10 ft wide 2:35. Sit back and enjoy.

I also have a hunch that your don't have enough HVAC to support 8 people and all your equipment in this room.

Build a great theater for 4, rather than compromising comfort for 8. Unless you have a large family.

Agree ! Even if your screen is 9' wide I think you are reaching with that many seats and particularly the space beween the rows.

Art

I may be in the minority here, but my room is slightly bigger than your and I am planning on going with two rows, unless things change. My room is 13.5' deep and after I build an alcove to push the screen back into the wall a bit, it will be 14'-14.5' from back wall to screen when I am done.

I am going with a 1080p projector, so hopefully SDE won't be a problem. My front row will be around 8' away from the screen and my back row will be against the back wall.
Yes, I know that this isn't optimal for the second row, but it will be mainly overflow, my wife and I will sit in the front row 90% of the time.

We are moving our equipment from an open room with a sectional that seats 6 or so, so it would be quite a seating downgrade if we moved into a room that only seated 3.

Build a great theater for 4, rather than compromising comfort for 8. Unless you have a large family.

3rd that!!

@ 13', it's really really pushing to have 2 rows. not only the front row will be a bit too close to the screen unless you are going for <90" diagonal, but the rear row will be most like up against the wall which isn't anywhere the best acoustic placement too. it's doable, but really pushing and most likely not the greatest idea imho.

mine is 15' deep, and I still think I'm 2-3' short of able to build 2 row with the right placement and still able to use a big screen.

My room length is 16 feet deep. I have a 6' long riser from the back wall, so that only leaves less than 10 feet from front row eyes to screen. We find it comfy to watch our 120" diag. Hi Power from the front row. I don't see how you would be able to put two rows in your room. You need a minimum of 6 feet for the depth of your riser.

Having had a wide "variety" of people (grandparents, friends, kids, etc...) in our theater, I think I can safely say that you won't find many who find ~1.0x - 1.1 too close.

I find a weird thing happening when I have guests over.

My screen is 114 inches diag (16 x 9). The front row is at 10.5 feet and the second row is about 16 feet.

Being a polite host, I always ask where my guests prefer to sit.

NO ONE -- literally no one chooses the front row.

When I ask why, I find that most people, not being used to such a big screen in their own home, are a little intimidated by the screen. So they don't even give themselves the chance to find out whether they are comfortable with it from the front row. So they sort of naturally gravitate to the 2nd row.

It seems like it is sort of a shock to see a screen that large in a house -- so their first instinct is that the front row is too close.

The other reason is, they are being polite, and don't want to take what they see as "my seat" -- the middle of the first row. But I think the first factor is really the driving force.

So I think it takes getting used to.

Of course, my wife and I think we could use an even larger screen -- as we are totally comfortable with our front row spot.

caesar1 is right on. We always offer the front row but you can tell they sorta shy away from it...at first! Return folks usually will drift up front...